Oklahoma to rise early and beat the heat

This has been one of the warmer summers that I can remember in recent history here in my hometown of Chicago, but what we've got going on here in the Windy City doesn't really come close to the heat wave taking place in Oklahoma. In fact, most folks in Oklahoma probably don't remember a summer this warm in the area because there hasn't been one.

Which poses a bit of a problem for the Sooners as fall camp is scheduled to begin on Thursday, and the high temperature in Norman on Thursday is expected to be 109 degrees. Which is a slight drop from the high of 112 that the town is dealing with on Wednesday (that's a photo of Norman on the right). So in order to try and beat the heat, which is just about impossible at the moment, the Sooners are going to be waking up pretty early to get practice in on Thursday, as Bob Stoops has moved it from the afternoon to 6:45 AM.

“It's just like Fan Day. It's different this year because our guys are still in class,” Stoops told The Oklahoman. “My only alternative was to go at 6 at night. I was going to push it back to 6:30 but it's still over 100 degrees.”

Of course, while moving the practices to the early morning will provide some relief, Oklahoma still has two-a-days starting on Tuesday, and you can't hold those in the morning.

“We're not sure (what we'll do),” said defensive coordinator Brent Venables. “You're not going to be able to avoid it all together. You have to be smart. It's still 100 degrees at 9 (p.m.). It's a different kind of heat if the sun is not out. You can't do two practices in the morning.”

Whatever the coaches decide to do, let's hope they exercise extreme caution. I remember having to go through two-a-days in high school on some hot days, but nothing like the Sooners and other schools in the area are going to be dealing with.

Oklahoma to rise early and beat the heat

Yep. It's been brutal here. As a parent, there would be no way I'd want my child practicing at the hottest times of the day. Glad to see Stoops is putting the welfare of his players as his top priority.

Oklahoma to rise early and beat the heat

They (coaches) need to keep the players hydrated also, which I'm sure they will do. With liability, and not wanting to hurt your players, it's a real dilemma for players across the country. Forget when it's freezing cold, there should be indoor practice facilities.

I was thinking night practices would be a good idea also. Especially since many of their games are night games anyway. And while it's still hot that time of night, they don't have the sun beating down on them to make it worse.

I remember when I was in high school, water breaks were seldom, and one coach even sarcastically told a player, who had passed out the day before, "why don't you go pass out!" Now, I'm not even sure that guy would be allowed to practice for a week (at least they shouldn't be able to), but I'm glad common sense is taking the place of being macho.

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